Field of the Invention
The present application relates to item management system and methods.
Description of the Related Art
A postage stamp is a small piece of paper that is purchased and displayed on an item of mail as evidence of payment of postage. Postage stamps are purchased from a postal administration or other authorized vendor and are used to pay for the costs involved in moving mail as well as other business necessities such as insurance and registration. This payment is made at the time that the postage stamp is received, and not at the time that the postal services are provided. While this model has been successfully used for several years, it also can result in people paying for postage that they do not use. Specifically, a person may pay for and receive postage, and the postage is either lost, or it is adhered to an item that does not need to be shipped, or any other of a range of circumstances occur that result in the individual, who paid for the postage, not being able to receive the benefit of his purchase. These problems not only arise in the context of postal services, but can arise in the broader context of any service and service provider.